There is a good pike, perch and bass area at the upper end of the lake. North Hero Island offers good, deep- water structure close to both sides of the island and around the bottom of the peninsula north of the island. A Vermont fishing license is required to fish in this area.

From the state ramps on the eastern side of North Hero, it's not a long walk across the ice before the bottom drops down into 30 or more feet. This breakline continues for several miles along the shore. The top of the ridge held weeds in summer and, depending on what is left of the grass by February, there might still be some pike and perch inside the dropoff.

If the water was dirty during the late summer and fall, weeds likely did not grow well, so the midbay flats and humps will probably hold the most fish. However, I have fished this region of Lake Champlain and these structures were dynamite in all seasons.

To reach North Hero from the New York side, take the Plattsburgh-to-Grand Isle crossing, which is available all year. On Grand Isle, take Route 2 to North Hero. For ferry information, call (802) 864-9804. Parking on the island is available at North Hero State Park, which can be reached by calling (802) 372-8727.

For more information, call the North Hero town offices at (802) 372-6926 or the DEC's Region 5 office at (518) 897-1200.

This is an extremely fertile lake and is full of weeds. If some weedbeds have lasted into February, that's where you'll find the best ice-fishing. Otherwise, start looking in depths of between 20 and 35 feet. A good place to concentrate your efforts is the southern basin, straight out from Brown's Beach on the southeast shoreline. The area around Snake Hill, also in the southern basin, is another good bet.

To reach Saratoga Lake from Albany, take I-87 to the lake district. For more fishing information, contact the DEC's District 5 office at (518) 897-1200.

For accommodations in the region, call the Albany County Visitors Bureau at (800) 258-3582.

Honeoye Lake is less than a mile in width at its widest point. Winter perch, pickerel, crappies and bass prefer the narrow midlake area off California Point. Another good spot is the fast drops off Log Cabin Point. The waters off both points are ice-fishing hotspots, thanks to good fields of holdover weedbeds and contours that descend rapidly from either shore. California Point is on the east side of this 4 1/2-mile-long Ice Age lake, while Cabin Point is on the east side.

Since Honeoye Lake has a maximum depth of about 30 feet, it is one of the easier Finger Lakes for ice-anglers to work. California Point and Cabin Point offer access to the deepest water on the lake. When you suspect that the fish have gone deep under the ice, these are definitely the two places to be. The gradients at either end of the lake aren't steep; however, the deeper waters of the lower lake have been known to attract good numbers of perch. While Honeoye does not contain trout or salmon, it does have a good population of chain pickerel, which should keep many ice-anglers happy.

Honeoye Lake is 30 miles south of Rochester. Take I-390 south to Avon and then Route 20A east to the town of Honeoye. Two main roads run from the top to the bottom of the lake. One is West Lake Road, the other is East Lake Road.

Honeoye Lake is in the DEC's Region 8. Call (716) 226-2466 for more information.

Honeoye Lake contains no trout, but 650-acre Canadice Lake in Ontario County offers good lake trout fishing, as well as bass. Recent stockings included 5,100 lake trout, 2,500 brown trout and 2,500 rainbow trout. Its forage base consists of alewives and smelts.

Canadice and Honeoye are next to each other and if the bite isn't good on one lake, simply get back on Route 37 at Honeoye and try the other.

While Honeoye Lake is uncharacteristically shallow for a Finger Lake, Canadice Lake has a mean depth of 55 feet and a maximum depth of 90 feet.

There is another important distinction between the two lakes, indeed between all the other Finger Lakes. This small lake has the highest elevation, and so it often freezes first and stays frozen longest. For late-winter anglers, this can mean an extended period of good ice-fishing.

To reach Canadice Lake from Rochester, take I-390 south to Route 20A. Well before reaching Honeoye, turn right on Canadice Lake Road. This road skirts the east side of the lake. A parking area is available south of Burch Hill Road. This road also connects with Route 37 and is the way to travel if you intend to fish both Canadice to Honeoye lakes.

You can also reach the top of Canadice Lake by taking Route 15A from Route 20A and turning left onto Purcell Hill Road. All of the local access roads are winding backcountry lanes, so be prepared.

For more information, contact the DEC's Region 8 office at (716) 226-2466. For accommodations for Canadice and Honeoye lakes, call the Finger Lakes Visitor's Connection in Ontario County at (877) FUN-INNY.

Lake trout are the most prominent species on this 11,700-acre lake and are maintained by natural reproduction. Alewives and smelts help fatten Keuka's lakers, browns, rainbows and landlocked salmon.

Access is available at Keuka State Park off Route 54A east of Branchport, at the municipal parking lot at Penn Yan, at Indian Pines Park off Route 54 A and on Guyango Creek near the lake.

For more information, call the DEC's Region 8 office.

Otsego Lake has cold, deep water that holds quality fish. The lake contains 4,200 acres and has a maximum depth of over 160 feet.

Its main fishery features lake trout and landlocked salmon, but it also has plentiful perch and bass. Its forage base consists of smelts and alewives

Recent stockings include 5,000 lake trout, 2,800 brown trout and 4,200 landlocked salmon. Anglers should concentrate their winter trout- and perch-fishing efforts off some of the lake's points, particularly Threemile, Fivemile and Sixmile points.

Otsego Lake is midway between Albany and Syracuse. Take the New York Thruway to Route 80 and travel south to Cooperstown.

For more information, contact the DEC's Region 4 office at (607) 652-7366. For accommodations, call the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce at (877) UMP-IRES.

While the lake's perch fishing is considered to be good, its walleye population is in temporary decline. To stem the drop, the DEC will be stocking 150,000 juvenile walleyes in 2003 and 2004. To provide protection for the remaining walleye stock, the minimum length limit will increase to 18 inches and only three fish may be creeled beginning October 2004.

The lake is 17.5 miles long and is divided into two nearly equal-size basins at Bemus Point. Winter public access is available at Long Point State Park, Prendergast Point, Bemus Point and Mayville Park.

To reach the lake, take I-90 to Route 394 toward Mayville.

For more information, call the DEC's Region 9 office at (716) 851-7000.

For more information on local accommodations, call (800) CALL-NYS, or visit www.iloveny.com on the Web.